60 SECONDS: Chantelle Houghton

Former professional Paris Hilton lookalike Chantelle Houghton came to fame by winning Celebrity Big Brother as the show’s only non-celebrity contestant. Since then, she’s hosted her dating show, Chantelle’s Dream Dates, and married fellow Big Brother inmate, The Ordinary Boys singer Sam Preston. Her autobiography, Chantelle: Living The Dream, is out now.

How’s married life treating you?

Very well. It’s amazing, thank you. Nothing changes; it just makes it that much more special, from being in love to actually being husband and wife. It makes it more meaningful.

It’s still early days – has the novelty worn off yet?

No and I don’t think the novelty will wear off. That’s for sad people.

What have you enjoyed the most since winning Big Brother?

The dating programme I did. I met a good lot of girls who worked on the show who’ve remained my friends. The programme was a lot of fun.

What’s been not so good?

When I went on German Big Brother. They had a farm and expected you to feed the animals and clear them out, which, obviously, I wouldn’t have done. They had a poor side and a rich side. On the poor side, you had to work all day feeding the animals and clearing cow s**t out; while on the rich side, you just drank champagne and lived in a luxury flat. They put me in this little pretend hotel thing. It wasn’t a nice experience, though. I’d just won Big Brother and wanted to be out having fun, not locked up again. I was supposed to be there for three days and two nights but only lasted a day and a night.

What’s the best thing about being famous?

Everyone being really nice to you and being complimented all the time. And the freebies come in handy.

What’s the best freebie that you’ve received?

A car – a Vauxhall Tigra. I get endless make-up, clothes and shoes, and can walk into shops and ask for discounts. It’s lovely.

What are the drawbacks?

I can’t say there is a drawback – I couldn’t name one. My life before was a drawback.

What was wrong with your life before?

Everything. It wasn’t as fun as my life now.

Do you ever get abuse in the street?

Only once, from a little old lady on King’s Road [Chelsea]. She had pearls round her neck and was wearing a little buttoned-up suit and looked really posh. She started shouting stuff at me while the paparazzi were there and, in the end, the paparazzi told her to f**k off and leave me alone. She was just horrible. She was jumping in front of the camera shouting: ‘I’m a lady, take pictures of me.’ I think she’d lost the plot a bit.

You were pals with Jodie Marsh in Big Brother. Do you regret not pursuing that friendship?

I didn’t have Jodie’s number but I know she had my mobile and my house number but she never rung so, y’know, that’s why. I didn’t hear from her. Things happen, don’t they?

She’s written stuff about you on her blog. Have you read that?

No. I don’t go on the Internet much.

People expected you to release I Want It Right Now and you didn’t. Why’s that?

The public knew I couldn’t sing and that was obvious to everyone. I wanted people to respect me for turning down a lot of money and a record deal for the fact that I can’t sing. I felt it would have been cheating the public out of money. The finished song wouldn’t have been me singing, it would have been a lot of producers pushing a lot of buttons. Think of all the musicians out there who try so hard, while I just get on Big Brother and release a single. It’s not right, is it?

What do you listen to at home yourself?

I don’t listen to much. I put the radio on every now and again but I don’t have a CD collection. I’ll listen to the radio if I’m cooking but that’s it.

Do you go to Preston’s gigs?

I went to the one in Southend the other night. It was amazing. I’m really proud of him. It’s my husband on stage and he’s singing and there are all these people supporting him who have paid money to see him.

How much work did you get as a Paris Hilton lookalike?

Not much, about two jobs a month, if that. It wasn’t half as exciting as my life is now. I used to get jobs like going to a toy exhibition, where I had to walk around with a fluffy dog poking out of my bag. Just really embarrassing things like that.

You’ve got a lookalike of your own now.

Yes. I haven’t met her. There are a lot of girls who you could just put a blonde wig on, green eye shadow and orange lipstick and claim to be my lookalike. Good luck to them. If they can make a bit of money out of looking like me, good luck to them because I did the same thing once. Rock on.

Is Nikki from this year’s Big Brother a threat to your popularity? She’s got her own E4 show.

Am I popular?

You’re not doing badly.

Oh thank you, that’s a very nice compliment. Me and Nikki are totally different people – good luck to her. It’s a bit sad to sit there thinking about other famous people and wondering if they’re your rivals. Do you sit there thinking about people in your office that might be a bit better than you? It’d drive anyone mad. Just be glad with what you’ve got or else you’ll end up a bitter and twisted person.

What have you got coming up?

Obviously I’ve made a lot of money so I’m planning on being a property tycoon. I’ll be buying flats around the Olympic stadium and selling them on for a lot of money. That’s my next little adventure. I wouldn’t mind being one of the dragons on Dragons’ Den. Or I might become a maths teacher. Why not? I’ve come this far, ha ha ha.

Do you feel under pressure to keep appearing in magazines?

If I’m not in a magazine, I’m not going to shout stuff like ‘I’ve done cocaine and had five threesomes with the neighbours’ just to stay in the headlines. I’ve got a bit more respect for myself. I’d rather go away quietly and not be seen again for the rest of my life than have to shout about doing heroin like some people do. Say I was bitter and twisted about Nikki, for example, I could start shouting: ‘Hang on, look at me! I used to be a prostitute’ or something. But that’s just not going to happen.